The views, opinions or perceptions expressed on Galactic Kegger are the exclusive views, opinions or perceptions of those who express them; and are not necessarily the views, opinions or perceptions of anyone whose reputation is important enough to merit paparazzi drool or wire taps...

Having proudly served in our nation’s military, I’ve always been compelled to exercise my right to vote. While I bear the scars of war and personal sacrifice, I am not a hero because I’m still around to talk about it. I don’t subscribe to hero worship. But if I did, once close brothers who aren’t around to talk about it would be the true heroes. In their honor, I pledged to vote each and every election. A pledge I may very well regret and possibly even rescind.

The Wake Up

It was November, 2008. Assured by myriad signs decorating the polling hall that my vote was completely confidential and that my personal information would be accepted, processed and stored in complete secrecy and confidence – I stood inside a partitioned booth and cast my votes.

As I filled in ballot balloons, an HBO documentary film by Russell Michaels, Simon Ardizzone, and Robert Carrillo Cohen titled ‘Hacking Democracy’ came to mind. Hacking Democracy was based on independent grassroots research which concluded that electronic voting machines manufactured by Diebold Election Systems (a subsidiary of Diebold, Incorporated) could be hacked and their results altered. They also suggested that hacks on these machines may have been contracted for by the Bush campaign in Ohio and Florida to win the 2004 presidential election.

Factual or not, Diebold Election Systems changed it’s name to Premier Election Solutions soon after that fiasco, and then sold itself out to Election Systems & Software located in Plano, TX for a measly $5Million in September 2009. The $5M fire sale acquisition came only 18 months after Diebold rejected a March 2008 buyout bid for Diebold Election Systems by United Technologies Corporation for $2.63 billion; sending up a big red collusion flag to the U.S. Justice Department.

… oops …

Now the Feds are getting in the act with 9 state attorneys general proposing that Election Systems & Software divest its Premier Election Solutions intellectual property, tools, assets and inventory – ALL OF IT – to a vendor approved by the Justice Department. The fear is that ES&S’s monopoly stifles competition.

Competition? Why isn’t there a line forming? Perhaps the Justice Department’s preferred vendor is the competition? If so, who are they and are their shares available on E*Trade?

It’s A Trap!

Anyway, I am here to explain why my vote will hereafter be cast with zero confidence in our country’s right to privacy system. Voting machine hacks… firewall, modem, router and server hacks… computer hacks… ATM terminal hacks… fraudulent phishing emails… trojan keyloggers… We live in a world where identity theft is not only a legitimate threat to our livelihoods, but it’s also big business – to the tune of $47.6 billion in 2009 according to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

Yet like many Americans, my direct concerns about identity theft dissipated after the 2008 elections concluded and the grind of real life set in. Out of site out of mind right?

That was until yesterday, when a young gentleman representing the political party I voted for in the presidential election rang my doorbell. Carrying a laptop disguised as a 1″ thick clipboard, he asked if the party could count on my support in the upcoming elections. He then rattled off how I voted on issues in the previous election, and informed me of how current party candidates planned to earn my support on those issues. Then he asked to confirm my household income, and…

Stop. Right. There.

Who the hell is this person? And why does someone I’ve never met possess all this private information about ME? I confirmed who he was, a hard working representative of the political party I voted for in the previous presidential election who’s merely trying to hold down a legitimate tax-paying job. Someday I’ll research where his employer’s revenues come from. Until then, I just wanna know how and why this guy had so much dirt on me.

HOW? Data Mining & Targeted Prospecting

Companies such as Acxiom, Claritas and First Data all sell personal information marketed as targeted demographics solutions to whoever is willing to pay for it. Ever wondered how the companies who publish the “reduce your debt” kits mailed in those official looking “Important Information: Do Not Discard” windowed security envelopes know exactly how much you can save by consolidating your debt with them?

It turns out our privacy isn’t so private, especially with regard to voter registration. Our personal voting trends as well as all of our “demographic” information are compiled and resold. In the political marketing arena, the 600lb gorilla responsible for our personal information warehousing and resale is a company called Aristotle. “Recognized as the pioneer in political technology” (just ask them) their main office is conveniently located right on Capitol Hill.

I looked up Political Technology. There’s no official definition or Thesaurus entry, so Aristotle’s marketing guys did a nice job of inventing the term. Essentially, political technology is the “science” of reselling personal information disguised as targeted demographics information to political campaigns. According to Aristotle themselves “every occupant of the White House — Democrat and Republican — for more than 25 years, has been an Aristotle customer, as are most U.S. Senators, most members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Democratic and Republican state party organizations.”

Holy shit!

While I’m not “insider” enough to prove it, here’s guessing that political candidates can garner big-dollar corporate campaign sponsorships using scalable voter demographics packaged as compensatory carrots. The more campaign contributions a sponsor might be willing to “donate” the more volumous, specific or targeted the information they might receive in return.

WHY? An Abuse of Privilege

We all know that information is power. But in this case, it translates DIRECTLY into real, tangible power. Power that shapes our laws and how they are enforced. Power that influences everything from Wall Street to the healthcare system to Social Security. All three of these segments are currently failing miserably and killing a once-thriving economy. I wish to submit our promiscuous political system for consideration as a big reason why.

One could surmise that our own government not only sanctions – but is a major client of – personal information hackers. Lawmakers are allowing its constituents’ personal information to be pimped out for their political gain, and then letting door-to-door salestypes openly walk the public streets with it. Protection of personal privacy is now so far out of reach for even the most technically aware American citizen that there isn’t a damn thing we can do about it without risking civil war.

As a decorated veteran who sacrificed much in defense of our people’s right to be heard at the polls, I may have to rethink my level of participation in government-sponsored programs. That includes elections.

Truths by themselves are inconsequential. They are like subscriptions… all one has to do is cancel if more preferencial content is found elsewhere. Facts on the other hand give no preferencial treatment and are eminently consequential. One can hide from truth – one cannot hide from fact. So subscribing to liberalism or conservatism means nothing except to those who stand to gain from picking a side.

If everyone were on the same side then handling fact would be the norm and proper decision making would occur. Handling truth would then be relegated to the make believe realms of fictional entertainment. It’s disturbing to see truth overpowering fact in law making.

Hi there – great stuff… Just a quick side question…Is it okay to highlight a portion of this post for an upcoming content piece I’m working on? You make some great points and not sure I can word things better than you already have!

Hi. I noticed your blog title, “Voter Privacy: An Urban Legend” does not really reflect the overall content of your website. Do you think it’s better to write for Website positioning or for your visitors? This is one thing I’ve been battling with mainly because I want great rankings but at the same time I want the best quality for my site visitors.

Interesting question. I agree this post is a bit dark compared to the rest, but it was a genuine eye opener I had to share. I try to be a storyteller first and foremost, so my focus is squarely on content. Variety is merely a byproduct. As for the post titles – they typically create themselves either while I’m writing or soon after I’m done.

For SEO purposes I suppose I could include linked keywords in my articles (like a press release) to improve website positioning. But any links I have within a post only reference a point that I feel needs to be referenced at the moment readers encounter it. Strategic positioning isn’t even a consideration when I write to be honest.

It all comes down to what you feel works really. If your topics allow you to add keywords in the title or body that can be searched on… great! If not, then don’t force it or the read will come off as an advertisement. Achieving the balance you’re looking for will pose the greatest challenge I think.

We know this problem exists with big banks and bankers, now what are we going to do about it? Other than protest on Wall Street and Main Street what’s our next step? We can’t recall Obama’s financial team — what do we do?

Thanks for stopping by Corrine. Good question. Me … here’s a few things I do to protect myself:
- I pay with a debit card or cash as often as I can.
- No revolving credit purchases. Having minimal credit history will cause your credit score to take a hit, but fuck ‘em.
- If I plan to buff my credit score, I’ll take out two 2-year personal loans, keep ‘em stashed in a savings account & pay them off in 3 months.
- Stay away from PayPal.
- I subscribe online using alias emails.
- I do not allow online retailers to retain my billing information after a purchase.

In essence, I take the same approach with my digital footprint that I take with my carbon footprint … MINIMIZE IT.